Wonderland
by Dr.HelenL
Summary: Cora's time in Wonderland, starting from when she came through the mirror and continuing on. Contains characters from Once in Wonderland and the actual books. Follows the plot of Once In Wonderland a bit.
1. Chapter 1

Wonderland Chapter One ~ Through The Looking Glass

The glass flowed around Cora like a thick, metallic liquid, and it spat her out on the other side of itself. She flew a foot from it's shiny surface as it solidified again. Cora pushed herself up shakily on the dirty stone floor and gasped for air, gulping it greedily in thick inhales of breath. She shook from the sudden surprise of the events that had just occurred as she caught her breath and turned to the looking-glass just as it began to crack and shatter.

Large shards of glass fell upon her as the portal broke. It rained down on her deep blue dress, piling on the skirts that covered over her legs. Cora sat wide-eyed and stunned for the first time in perhaps decades, blinking rapidly as she watched the glass crumble until all that was left was an ornate golden frame. She sat and watched, chest still heaving slightly.

It wasn't until the last mirror fragment fell on top of her that it occurred to her what had just happened. For the first time in a long while Cora felt a drop in the pit of her stomach, her face boiling over with rage and something akin to desperation as she sat up and kneeled the dirt and glass and shuffled through the glinting pieces. Her hand trembled and her throat tightened as it hit her fully.

"No," she said quietly, barely a whisper as she turned her head of brown curls up and gazed at the empty frame.

She sat there in the glass, silently staring at the wall that the portal had been leaning against before it broke. She studied it carefully, the jagged gray mountain side that it was against. Her hands trembled in the glass as she sat there for several minutes. She unknowingly cut her finger on the sharp end of one of the pieces, crimson blood dripping slowly out of it and onto the shimmering mound.

Cora felt none of it. She was numb with stunned anger. How dare her daughter do this! She would pay dearly for this when she got back to the Enchanted Forest and she wouldn't be kind in her punishment. 'Yes, Regina would suffer for her banishment direly,' Cora thought in a furious rage. She wouldn't be so nice to her with what she had done now.

On the cold floor, Cora stood up abruptly, the glass clanking together when it fell from her dress. Several of them stuck onto the fabric and she ignored them as her eyes darkened with her wrath. Whatever world she was in would have to have some type of portal. And she would find it and take it. It didn't matter who died, she needed to get back to her daughter, that foolish girl! She wouldn't hold back on her now.

Her red lips were set in a deep frown as she turned, the hem of her dress just barely brushing the floor, which was done in a repetitive orange stone tile with obnoxious yellow dots. Cora's anger flared at the sight of the world she was in, especially as she began realize which one it was. 'But it couldn't be could it?' she growled in her mind, looking about with the broken mirror behind her.

Her wide and fiery eyes trailed down the path. Along each of the sides of the pathway were large blades of vivid green grass, more than seven feet tall. Cora's fists clenched at the cheery bright red and yellow flowers and mushrooms, the urge to burn it all becoming too strong for her to handle as her fist opened and collected a ball of flames. In one swift movement of her arm, the entire right side of the trail burst into flames. She continued to throw fire at the grass, letting out grunts of rage as she burned it all into charcoal.

It didn't make her feel any better, however it gave her some pleasure as a large field of black ash was exposed to her. Satisfied she turned around to be met with more of the vomit-inducing colors and soon, the adjacent side of the path was nothing but piles of soot too. Cora swallowed thickly and flexed her hands, gazing once more at this "new" land. She visibly flinched as she looked up at the sky, which was an unnatural shade of blue. It confirmed her guess of which land this was.

She really hated Wonderland.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two ~ The Caterpillar

Cora had been on the path for a while now, seething like boiling water in a kettle when she caught a whiff of a smoky scent. Figuring that it was from the burning grass earlier and not quite in the right mind to register it, she continued on without much thought. Until a gust of wind blew and the thick gray puff flew into her face again, making her eyes water and her nose twitch.

Pausing, she clenched her hand harder, inhaling the scent of some kind of tobacco that she wasn't used to. Her lip curled back a bit and she continued walking. Perhaps someone nearby was smoking, she thought irritatedly. She disliked the smell of tobacco, but she also knew she needed to find someplace to figure out what she would do. And where there was tobacco, surely there will be a person.

Cora stopped in the center of the tiled path and turned to the origin of the scent. Through the blades of grass, Cora could make out a mushroom that had to be at least ten feet in diameter. From the top of the mushroom came rings of smoke, the wind catching it and blowing it to her again. Her jaw hardened as she used her magic to turn the mushroom to her, since it was previously tilted away from her view. In her surprise, her magic revealed a large, fat caterpillar with glasses and a red fez.

Before she could react to the strange sight it stopped in it's smoking momentary to talk. Cora's eyebrow raised slightly as it addressed her presence.

"Who. Are. You?" it asked sleepily from the effects of the tobacco.

Cora frowned deeper and watched as the greenish thing smoked another puff and blew it out towards her. Fed up with it already Cora raised her hand, purple magic flowing from her slender fingers and wafting off into the air. She sent a large amount of it towards the caterpillar, which grunted a bit as she lifted it's heavy weight above the mushroom and began to squeeze it slightly.

In a mocking tone, Cora answered with the same question, "Who are you?"

The caterpillar attempted to to take another whiff of it's hookah pipe but Cora held him tighter so he couldn't. Soon it realized she would not let him go until he cooperated with her.

"I am me," it said simply.

In her rage Cora squeezed him harder but the large larvae did not make a sound. Infuriated, Cora asked him one last question, pondering if she should kill the thing or not.

"How far is the nearest town?" she growled, violence glinting in her eyes.

"Only a half an hour's way away," it stated, and Cora let the thing down, releasing her magic from him. The caterpillar continued to smoke his hookah pipe, stopping only to blow more into her face as she carried on.

"Who. Are. You?" she could hear it ask as she went along her way following the path. It seemed her rage had only boiled further more than before, which - for the little town ahead - would prove to be deadly.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three - Kneel

When Cora finally made her way to the village it was already noon. Cora was done with the people of this frustrating world. That caterpillar had really pushed her buttons and she was about ready to snap, stomping into the nearest house (that appeared to belong to a wealthy merchant, of course) and went straight into their foyer. Startled by this strange lady making her way into their house, the small family sitting in the main room all rose up and watched her curiously until the Father approached her.

"Get out of my house."

Cora smirked up at him. The poor man never knew what was coming as her anger was released and she delved her hand into his chest, gripping his heart tightly with her cold fingers.

"You will give me the finest room in this dump of a house and you will not say a word to anyone else that I ever existed," Cora whispered to him when she pulled his ear close to her mouth. His wife began to rush over, but Cora held her back, demonstrating her magic. The children hid a bit in their fear.

She was shown to her room.

While it was not the finest room, it was still luxurious enough for Cora to feel comfortable in. She was also previously shown the location of the chamber pot and also shown the small dining hall where breakfast was made by the few servants whom worked there. When finally shown to her room, Cora collapsed on the mahogany four-post bed, mumbling a soft protection spell before she fell asleep.

* * *

Cora woke haphazardly to the sound of trumpets and a crowd of voices outside of her window. Groaning, she got up angry that they disturbed her slumber. But once she saw what was happening Cora smiled broadly to herself. Just outside her window appeared to be the Queen's carriage, a deep crimson color and inlaid with gold. She watched as the Queen made her way out of the carriage, forcing several henchmen to roll out a carpet and escort her to the front door of a noble's house.

But that wasn't what made Cora smile.

There were thousands of people, young and old, tall and short, thin and fat. Some of them were peasants next to nobles. All of them had one thing in common, however. They were all kneeling, rows and rows of them along the road and the sidewalks. Some were kneeling the remains of a horse's breakfast while some had a small plank of wood they kneeled on. In her mind Cora only heard one thing.

"I won't stop until they are on their knees."

* * *

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